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Florida State, Oklahoma State finalize deal for game in Dallas to open 2014 season

Florida State’s football team will launch their 2014 season in Big D.

The Seminoles and Oklahoma State have agreed to play Aug. 30 that year at Texas Stadium in Dallas, in prime time on ESPN. It’s the first time the Seminoles have opened their season at a neutral site since a 2002 game against Iowa State in Kansas City, Mo.

The last time FSU and Oklahoma State met was in the 1985 Gator Bowl, a 34-23 victory for the Seminoles. They are 3-1 overall against the Cowboys.FSU will play a game in Texas for the first time since the 1992 Cotton Bowl, a 10-2 victory over Texas A&M.

The matchup was announced in Dallas on Wednesday. The Dallas Cowboys and ESPN also extended their agreement to stage Labor Day weekend college football games at Texas Stadium through 2024.

The game was finalized after a season in which the ‘Noles came under heavy criticism for their schedule. Their non-conference games this season, except for Florida, were Murray State, Savannah State and South Florida.

Next year, FSU is playing Nevada, which went 7-6 this season and finished fifth in the Mountain West, Wofford, a Football Championship Subdivison team, and Idaho, which went 1-11 in the Western Athletic Conference.

“We are pleased to be playing Oklahoma State and with the exposure the game will provide our program and our university,” Florida State Director of Athletics Randy Spetman said in a statement. “I know that our fans will be excited about visiting Texas Stadium and the Dallas area. It is a football venue that is second to none.

Spetman said FSU is seeking other neutral site games and home-and-home deals with “prominent programs in then near future.”

“We have wanted to step up our schedule and improve our strength of schedule and this game gives us a great non-conference opponent,” FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said in another statement. “To be able to open up our season at Cowboys Stadium will be a great experience for our players and fans.”

ESPN and the Dallas Cowboys began their “Cowboy Classic” games in 2009 with Oklahoma vs. Brigham Young. This season, Alabama beat Michigan 41-14.

Other games were Oregon State vs. Texas Christian in 2010 and LSU vs. Oregon in 2011. Next year, LSU will play TCU.